War Dancer is conducting a Bachelor-style search for the 100 best mares as he prepares for his first year as a new stallion. He is one of War Front’s leading sons, with more than $1 million in career earnings. War Front is North America’s leading sire, standing for $250,000 per breeding.
Robin Malatino, one of War Dancer’s owners, conceived the “America’s Most Eligible Stud” campaign. Inspired by ABC’s successful The Bachelor reality television dating game, War Dancer plays the role of Prince Charming who flirtatiously woos and vets his pool of female admirers.
“War Dancer isn’t the only horse with a Twitter account, but I wanted to take this well beyond what anyone else is doing,” explained Malatino. “My objective was to find a way to differentiate War Dancer and showcase his personality to a wide audience, and deliver something new to the inboxes of the breeding managers. When women describe their ideal man – handsome, tall, athletic, intelligent, financially secure – I thought, ‘Hmm, that sounds just like War Dancer,’ and that’s when the light went on! The engagement has been incredible.”
To build the multi-platform digital campaign, Malatino enlisted Grand Slam Social, which has created social media campaigns for numerous high-profile racing events, including the Breeders’ Cup.
The cornerstone of the campaign is a 12-part blog series – employing humorous videos, photos and dialogue – chronicling War Dancer’s search. Acacia Courtney, a former Miss Connecticut, and on-site TV personality and commentator for the horse racing industry, is the host. After meeting War Dancer in the inaugural episode, the audience listens in as he receives an encouraging call from his father, War Front, in the second. The group of potential mares is introduced in Episode Three, while in the fourth installment, War Dancer meets the mares at the track for a group date working session.
The fifth installment, “War Dancer Remembers the Past,” debuted this week. After treating his fillies to a buffet breakfast featuring carrots and apples, War Dancer pairs with jockey Alan Garcia to recollect their epic 2013 race at Keeneland where War Dancer moved up from last place to seize the win. After that, War Dancer engages the mares in a race for his affections. Unfortunately, contender Lucy breaks the rules by racing in a convertible and gets sidelined at the bar, never to finish.
“It’s been an exciting adventure creating the episodes of America’s Most Eligible Stud,” stated Ashley Cline of Grand Slam Social. “War Dancer is a truly a unique character and beautiful stallion. We wanted to best showcase his personality through this series and his social media accounts.
“Each week we find ourselves giggling behind the scenes as we watch these equine characters come to life in human-like situations,” Cline continued. “It’s only going to get better from here!”
This season’s 12-week series will conclude on Feb. 27, but users can reread and watch the episodes here and continue to follow and interact with War Dancer on social media via Twitter and Facebook.
About War Dancer
Born in 2010 and owned by Diamond M Stables, War Dancer is a multiple graded stakes winner by the top stallion in America, War Front. War Dancer is one of three millionaire sons of War Front standing stud in North America. For more information, visit www.wardancerstud.com.